They say lightning never strikes twice, but I’ve heard of people getting struck by lightning more than once.

I remember golfing with a buddy when we were on the 16th hole down in a valley when the warning siren blared throughout the whole course. With our lightning rods – I mean umbrellas – raised, my friend Mike began walking up the steep cart path. 

I turned to say something to him and saw a flash of light that almost blinded me. The worst part, however, was the sound of the thunder that boomed about a second after the lightning. 

We knew it was close, looked at each other, said in unison, “Let’s get out of here!” and started running. 

No one wants to be hit by lightning, or even get close to it … but it does happen. 

In Canada there are an average of over 2 million lightning strikes per year, yet only 100 to 150 people are injured each year by lightning. That tells me that lightning is not all that accurate. Still, it claims about 9 or 10 lives per year. 

It’s rare to be struck by lightning more than once, but don’t tell that to Roy Sullivan. He was struck seven times!

Well, my golfing lightning story was the closest I’ve ever come, but something happened the other day that reminded me of being struck by lightning twice. 

When I was in college I got injured playing hockey. I was skating up the ice with a good head of steam and scooped at the puck along the boards. The plastic strip at the base of the boards had a join right where the blade of my stick made contact with the puck. The join wasn’t even and acted as a full stop for my stick. 

I drove the butt end of my stick into my upper thigh and it lifted me right off the ice, until the stick broke in half and I came crashing down. 

It was probably the most pain I’ve experienced in my life.

I’ll never forget it. I had clipped a small artery, just missing the main artery in my leg by a couple of millimetres. The result was a hematoma about twice the size of a golf ball that appeared in mere seconds. 

I ended up having surgery to tie off the artery and drain the blood. 

Fast forward 40 years later. … Last week I was skating with the puck and went to go around a guy right by the boards. It was tight, yet somehow the blade of my stick wedged into a gate – how it got in there, still amazes me.

All I know is the butt end of my stick hit my upper thigh and I was flying in the air.  

I had a déjà vu moment as I landed on the ice.

Thankfully it wasn’t serious this time, just some bruising and tenderness for a few days.

All I can say is, I hope I’m not the Roy Sullivan of hockey rinks.

Here’s the thing: There are some things that we don’t want to have to experience twice, or want another chance at. But God gives us multiple chances to respond to His invitation to begin a relationship with Him through His son, Jesus Christ. Don’t wait for another chance to come along. Put your faith in Christ today.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is something you hope you will not experience again? Leave your comments and questions below.

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